Kenyan airstrikes kill 20 al-Shabab militants

Kenyan fighter jets have attacked camps of al-Shabab militants in Somalia’s southwestern province of Gedo, killing at least 20 rebels.
Gedo governor Mohamed Abdikalil told Shabelle Media the the Thursday night airstrikes targeted al-Shabab training camps in Birta-dheer village, 18 kilometers south of Gedo’s capital, Garbaharey.
An unnamed eyewitness said Kenyan warplanes fired at least 10 missiles at the area run by al-Shabab at about 10:00 p.m. local time, causing casualties and damage.
"First we saw two jets flying over Birta-dheer village. A few minutes later, we heard bombardment. The jets bombed al-Shabab-controlled area, then flew back and dropped several other bombs," according to a resident in Garbaharey.
Kenya has beefed up security along its border with Somalia since it dispatched soldiers into the country last October to chase al-Shabab militants, who it accuses of being behind the kidnapping of several foreigners in Kenyan territory. However, al-Shabab has denied involvement in the kidnappings.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
The weak Western-backed transitional government in Mogadishu has been battling al-Shabab fighters for the past five years and is propped up by a 10,000-strong African Union force from Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti.
KA/MF/HGL